Shin Megami Tensei  Persona 3 : Sidetracked
by A.E.Cast
Summary: 20 years After the Great Seal of Nyx the Gang from Persona 3 are Living their lives as normal as possible. But on the night of the Seal's aniversary, a great event occurs and it's up to the S.E.E.S members along with some unusual friends to save humanity.


Persona 3.5: Sidetracked

By Alex Castaneda

Chapter 1: Fool

**Evening, Iwatodai Station**

**2 Days**

Ah…Grand Tokyo, Japan. The Sights. The Sounds. The Air. It was all new to me. Sen Yamuna is my name. I never really liked it but it's what I got. Any ways, as my train pulled into Iwatodai Station I grabbed my things and walked out. I was listening to my MP3 player with my earphone's on full blast when I walked out of the train station. I was currently listening to "Memories of you" and then it changed into "Burn my Dread" while I was walking to my destination. I was even more amazed at the sheer size of the city I was planning to spend my last year of school in. Funny. I wondered what amazing adventures I would get to at my school. I even spotted a blue butterfly as I crossed the street to the one my Building was on.

**Late Night,?**

It was almost midnight. I checked my phone.

"2030 March 29th, 11:59...Nice timing…" I found my Dorms as the clock struck twelve…and kept going. I opened the dorms and was greeted by a shower of light. There I saw a long, brown haired teen with a book in his hand. Looked about my age.

"Huh? Oh you must me the transfer student! Hi! My name's Chiento. But everyone calls me Judge. Probably cause I Judge people to much. Anyways…welcome to the dorms of Gekkokan High! It'll be only for a few days but you'll be here next year right? That'd be very messed up if you drop out only a few days in the year! Then what kind of person would you be huh!" He laughed a bit at this.

I kinda made a face. No wonder they called him Judge.

I pulled off my Earphones and shook his awaiting hand.

"Nice to meet you. My name's-"

"Oh I know your name. I just wanted to see if you were kind enough to tell it to me. Nice to meet you Yamuna-san."

I made another face. Yep….way too much.

"So…is everyone else sleeping?"

"Actually…right now either they left back home to unpack or they're going to graduate so they left to their new homes. Either way it's just you and me here! Well…that and my Homeroom teacher Ms.-"

"Well…what do we have here? What is my policy about staying up after midnight Kamokoto-san?" A woman with shoulder length hair of an olive green was at the stairs. Even with the worried tone she seemed very relaxed and easy about the situation.

"Sorry Sensei. I was just reading my book. But it's a good thing I was or else no one would greet Yamuna-san here!" Judge said, gesturing to me.

The woman seemed even more relaxed at the explanation. If that was even possible.

"Well he is older than you by a year Kamokoto-kun. You should address him by his proper name you know." She walked forward and smiled, bowing as she did so.

"Hello Yamuna-Kun. I am Fuuka Yamagishi. It's been scheduled that I'll be your homeroom teacher for your senior year. Please feel right at home in the dorms. And you don't have to call me Sensei. Senpai will do just fine."

She said with a sweet smile. I had returned the bow she gave me when I noticed something around her hip. A gun holster. And in it was a shiny chrome gun. It looked polished. I couldn't help staring at it. What was a nice, innocent looking and acting women like her doing with an armed and dangerous weapon!

Sensei noticed my gaze.

"Ah this. This is just for my self protection. I don't really use it, or need it any more, but…let's just say it's a very dear item to me. Now…if we're done with the introductions, could you both please go to your rooms. Kamokoto-kun, he'll be in "That" room. Don't stay up too late. I'll know if you do.~" She said with a smile as she walked up the winding stairs.

Judge-san sighed.

"Yea…she always does. I don't know how either. She just always does. She must have hidden camera's in our rooms or something…"

He motioned for me to follow him. I made a mental note of the sign in sheet near the door and the bathrooms at the main floor. Hay. You Never know when something is forgotten or needed to be done. As a took a step on the stairs I felt like someone was watching me. A name popped into my head. "Juno…." I said without realizing.

"What was that?"

I shook my head.

After he showed me my room. ("It's easy to remember cause it at the end of the hall! You got to be lucky to get this room!")

I walked in and unpacked my stuff. After that I looked outside. It was almost a full moon.

Oh…I forgot to mention something. I hear voices. Don't get the wrong idea! I'm very much a sane person! It's just sometimes I hear things. Sometimes it's a sound, like a growl or a roar. And sometimes it's names. Some I recognize like Lucifer, Samael and Mythos. But most of the time I don't. Like Messiah, Pazuzu, Cerberus and now Juno. And it happens the most during full moons. But every time it's a full moon it's only two names.

Two names I can never get out of my head.

Two names that will haunt my life forever.

Two names that determined my fate as soon as I heard them.

One was Nyx.

The other was Minato Arisato.

**Morning, Dorms**

**2 days**

I awoke next morning. It was the 30th of march. I found my uniform in my closet….and a red arm band in the top shelf as well. It had very faded letters on it…but I could still make out S.E.E.S. The small print, which no doubt described the acronym, were lost to time. It was weird…Like I had seen it somewhere before.

As my Clock hit seven I noticed I was going to be late for my first day at school.

"Crap!" I grabbed my brown book satchel and ran out the door, hoping to make the next train to Gekkokan high…

I didn't make it. The train ran late and I ended up 10 minuets down the road myself. As I walked through the glass doors of my new school it was empty, save for the school shop lady. She seemed to be arguing with a math teacher. At least…I hope it was the math teacher or the protractors in his hands would just be plain weird…he probably used it to measure his ridiculous afro…

I shook my head of these thoughts and ran to my class. 2-F

As I ran in the whole class cheered.

"That's amazing sensei!"

"Right again Sensei!"

"He's a little cute don't you think?"

"How are you always right sensei!"

I was confused. I looked towards Fuuka-Sensei.

"Did something happen Sensei?"

Fuuka smiled and talked with her regular, relaxed voice.

"No. I just guessed it was you about to come into the classroom. I'm always right when it comes to that. Now class…"

She turned to the class.

"This is Sen Yamuna-san. He's a new transfer student coming here.

And as we all know about the year about to end, please-"

The overhead sprang to life as a harsh female voice boomed over it.

"Yamuna, Sen! Please report to the Principal's office! I repeat, report to my office, immediately! That is all."

Darn…one day in and I'm already in hot water.

Fuuka looked like she was high. Seriously. There was no other way to describe it.

"Well…you better get going. I'll introduce you to the class while you're gone. You better hurry. You don't want her waiting. Kirijo-Senpai doesn't like to wait long."

I nodded and left my stuff at the middle open desk and power walked to the principal's office…

**Morning, Principal's office**

As I was about the walk in a saw a woman with long brown hair and a heart choker walk out. Another name popped into my head as she said…

"Hello" to me as she walked out. The name was Isis. I nodded towards her in respect and tried to clear my head.

I opened the door to the office slowly, half hoping that was the principal who just walked out and she was faking everything.

"Come in Yamuna-san."

Crap….can't get everything you want.

I walked in and all I could see were my files on the desk and the red headed woman looking down at them. With the figure of a model but the glare of a philosopher, even _my_ head filled with idea's to "Take a crack" at a relationship, like countless other did no doubt. Then reality set in and I sat down…noticing she had the same type of gun Sensei had on the table. It was engraved with the same letters I found on the armband. S.E.E.S. It too looked polished and deadly.

"Well…what do you say for yourself?"

"Sorry Sexy…I MEAN SENSEI!" Oh crap! Did I just say that! My life is over! I'm dead! Make my tombstone right now and find me a burial plot!

The red head just laughed.

"As much as I get that, flattery won't excuse a tardy on your recorded first day of school." She said with a smile that looked on the verge of a laugh.

"Sorry…sensei." I said, monitoring my words very carefully…and then I heard it.

Another voice in my head.

"Artemisia…" I said without warning.

The principal's smile faded.

"Ex-excuse me?" She said with a stutter.

I shook my head.

"Sorry sensei…I say things without warning sometimes…" I said quickly. Trying to hide my embarrassing secret. It seemed even more embarrassing while I was in front of her.

"No it's okay. Please tell me. What did you say…it sounded like…Artemisia was it?" She asked with an inquisitive look.

I solemnly nodded.

"And where did that name come from?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"I don't know. Names just pop into my head at random times." I explained.

"Elaborate please." She said. It sounded like a command. Jeez…she still looked nice when she said it though…

"Well…it happened last night too. After I met Yamagishi-Sensei I heard a voice say Juno."

"Really? Interesting." She actually looked interested. She was a first.

"Well…and this woman who walked out of your office, after I met her the name Isis came to mind." I said some more. She was the first person who actually looked honestly interested. I couldn't stop talking!

"Wow. That's very interesting."

"Yea. There's a couple that repeat a lot though. But only during full moons."

"And what would they be?" She asked, even more intrigued by the way she shifted her weight towards me. It gave me a view men all around the world would kill for. I tried my hardest not to stare.

"Nyx and Minato Arisato." As soon as the names escaped my lips, she immediately did a double take. She seemed worried and afraid more than intrigued anymore.

"And…do you know what they mean?"

"No ma'am. They're just random things to me."

"Then that is all. If you hear anymore names please write them down and talk to me immediately okay?" She wrote down something on a piece of paper.

"Here's my number. Call me if anything…out of the ordinary happens. Okay?"

I nodded.

After that she told me to leave the room. I did so, wondering what set her off to give me that reaction?

**Lunchtime, Rooftop**

As I finished my bento box lunch I looked at the clear mid-day sky. I was sitting next to a memorial with Japanese Kanji on it. It had many flowers on it, wilted as they may be, and many other trinkets. My guess was someone must've died on that bench. It sucked that I could understand the Language, but not be able to read it. I may have been able to see whose memorial it was. Oh well…I guess it's just him and me today.

"You're in my spot." A girl's voice spoke.

I turned to see the long raven haired girl looking at me with a semi-blank expression. The other part of it was annoyance.

"Please move. This is my spot." She said again. She placed her hands on her hips. She looked menacing. I moved to the other side of the bench.

"Sorry…"

She didn't answer. She took out her lunch and started on the white rice. I looked at her eat. Funny. She stilled looked menacing.

"Why are you still here?"

"Sorry…I'm new here." I explained.

She looked at me, still a blank expression.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Yamuna-senpai!" A heard Judge's voice call. He was walking towards us from the rooftop door. He wasn't carrying a lunch or a bento box so my guess was he finished it already.

"I wondered where you were. Oh…hay Tabitha-Senpai."

"You again? Why do you always bother me?" She asked, with an even more annoyed look upon her face than before. I was glad not to be the only one who made her do that.

"You two…know each other?" I asked.

Judge nodded as he sat down on the floor. "Yea. We've been friends since freshman year. Well…till she decided to go all gothic last year. Then I proposed that we only hang out during after school hours. Then she got

Ma-" Before he was done she gave him a menacing glare.

"Are you kidding! I was pissed! You were gonna abandon me all because of what I looked like!"

"It wasn't _just_ the looks! You acted different too! And I said we could hang out after school!" He explained.

Tabitha just stared at him. Judge shook like a tree blowing in the wind. Even a grown man would've shuddered like Judge did.

"You didn't want to be seen with me! I was your friend for three years and you were gonna let me go like an injured pet!"

In my mind I could see I had two choices. Judge's side had a point in which, her looks could present the wrong idea. She was wearing the skirt of the school uniform and the shirt of the school uniform but the ribbon she wore was a tainted black. There were also two skull pin ups in her hair. Both were in her frontal left side of her head. That coupled with see through white stockings and black war boots completed the look of a woman who was going to run you over first and ask questions later. Judge had a point.

But on Tabitha's side, she had an even bigger point. You don't just leave a friend hanging because of their looks. Even if they act differently, they're still your friend. I had to go with Tabitha.

"I don't think it was fair to Tabitha-chan that you left her in the dark like that."

Tabitha smiled at me. "See! Even Yamuna-san agrees with me."

I was going to nod…when I felt very sleepy all of a sudden. I couldn't hold my eyes open. I couldn't hold my body up! My vision blurred and the last thing I remember conscious was that I was falling and they called my name.

"Sen!"

"Yamuna-San!"

"Sen….."

**Evening,?**

**2 days**

I awoke to a room of a bluish hue. The floor was the same color. As were the walls and the table cloth of the table in front of me. A man with the longest nose I've ever seen was in front of me.

"My most special guest! Welcome to the Velvet room! My name is Igor." He said with a sweeping arm gesture.

I looked around once more.

"This is the weirdest dream I've ever had." I told myself.

The long nosed man in a tux laughed. "Believe me. This isn't only a dream great one. This realm is in the middle of dream and reality. And only those that have signed a contract may enter here. Or…that would be the case for my normal guests. Sometimes I have special guests like you, great one, that can come and go as they please. "

I was confused. "This…is a dream right?"

"As of this moment. Yes. But there will be a time where we will expect you to come of your own accord. Excuse my assistants, oh great one, for they cannot accompany me during these troubling times. They are investigating a very important matter as of years ago."

"Um…why do you keep calling me that?" I asked. Igor just smiled.

"Forgive me, great one. I have forgotten the circumstances in which you come here. I shall give you two things before you leave here. You are about to embark on a great journey. Take this to for safe keeping."

A Bluish-purple key floated down from the ceiling and just stayed in front of me. I took it in my hand and placed it in my pants pocket. It was warm to the touch.

"I assure you…We shall see each other again."

Chapter 2: Magician

**March 31****st**** 2030**

**Sunday**

**Morning, Dorms**

**1 day**

I awoke in my bed. Wondering how I got there I looked at the note next to my bed.

"Yamuna-san. We carried you to your dorm. Don't worry you don't owe us anything. We're not those kinds of people."

It was definitely from Judge. I looked at the day on my cell phone. It was Sunday in the morning. School was already over. Maybe I could beg for Mitsuru-sensei to help me get the incidents off my record…yea. Right.

I placed my phone back in my pocket. As I did so it clanged on something else in my pocket. I took my cell out and took the other object out. The velvet key. I stared at it in awe. This must be a joke. There was no way it was real…was there? I mean let's face it. I was already hearing voices in my head yet I was still sane. Maybe this could be so as well. Well what the hell do I know.

I placed the key back into my pocket and sat up on my bed. I was still in my uniform as I could see. I took they key back out and found some clothing in my closet. I changed into my regular clothing of a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a black jacket with double sided copper buttons, slipped the key back in my pocket, and walked down onto the lobby.

I saw Judge reading a book while the TV was on behind him. I turned the TV off for, no one was watching it.

"Where's sensei?" I asked Judge.

"She's upstairs talking with Korijo-Sensei." He answered.

I nodded. I heard voices again. Artemisia and Juno were being repeated in my head over and over and they were loud.

I placed my headphones on to drown out their voices. I sat on the chair and listened to my music, unsure of how to spend my first weekend in Japan.

That's when I saw Kirijo and Yamagishi-sensei walk down from the stairs and talk. They must've been talking about me because they were staring in my direction from time to time. Kirijo-Sensei motioned for my attention. I turned off my music and took my headphones off. The voices were still there, but not as loud as before. And even weirder still they seemed to be coming from my sensei's. How was that possible?

"Yamuna-San. I'd like to invite you to a little event that you might be interested in. It's a little ritual that my friends and I do twice a year to…celebrate some occasions. I would very much appreciate it if you could escort the two of us to our meeting place."

If this was an anime, a tear drop would've fallen down the back of my head. How in the hell was I suppose to say no to that!

"_Hy_ Sensei." ((Hy means "Yes" in Japanese.))

"Thank you." Kirijo-Sensei said with a little bow. Yamagishi-Sensei looked the same way I did, but she said nothing. It was like she was used to it. Were these two friends for a while or something? My thoughts were interrupted by the door being knocked upon. Kirijo-Sensei walked towards the door, arms still crossed. (How does someone walk like that and not expect to be stared at!) and opened the door with one hand. A man in a driver's uniform was at the entrance.

"Madam Kirijo, your ride is here."

"Right on time. Thank you." She said to the driver. She turned to me.

"Shall we Fuuka-kun?" Kirijo-sensei asked, still looking at me.

My other sensei nodded. I turned to Judge. He was oblivious. Wrapped around the world of his book. I shrugged. I wasn't like I had anything else to do. I walked outside of the dorms and saw the limo. My god…it was huge! I stared at it for a while, taking in the black beauty of a car before me. Kirijo-Sensei showed me the back of the limo as we got in. As soon as Yamagishi-Sensei was in the car, the driver wasted no time getting in and speeding off to our destination.

**Morning, Near Iwatodai station**

**1 day**

It was a spacious limo. I was sitting alone on one side while my Sensei's stared at me from the other. Mitsuru-Sensei poured herself a glass of something in a wine glass and drank out of it with practiced precision. She noticed my gaze.

"It's not wine, if that's what you're wondering. I don't drink. It's actually just fruit punch. And I'd drink out of a plastic cup instead if I could, but my company doesn't want me to 'Spoil my image'." She sighed.

Fuuka laughed a bit.

"Your father sure did leave a lot for you to manage didn't he Mitsuru-chan?" She asked.

Mitsuru nodded.

"Well…it's not like he'd foreseen his death. Actually it was very surprising to us all if memory serves." Mitsuru said.

I was lost.

"But…your father died of illness. Wouldn't there've been early symptoms of it?" I asked. I probably shouldn't have but my curiosity got the better of me. And the voices in my head didn't help either.

"Yes…let's…leave it at that." Mitsuru said. She was hiding something. I could tell. She might be beautiful but she was a terrible liar.

She shook her head and changed the subject. Predictable.

"Do you know about strange things happening? Apathy Syndrome, for instance?" Mitsuru asked me.

I shook my head.

"No Ma'am. Besides what I already told you I don't know anything, besides Apathy Syndrome disappeared 20 years ago." I answered.

"Actually, Exactly 20 years ago." Fuuka added.

"Is that what we're celebrating?" I asked. Mitsuru shook her head.

"No. We're celebrating for another reason." As we pulled up I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Uh…why are we at school." I asked.

"Cause this is where we celebrate." Mitsuru-sensei answered.

**Late-Morning, School**

**1 Day**

As we entered the high school Fuuka-sensei split up from us. She said that she had to go tend to a friend of hers to make sure she was "Presentable". I wasn't really paying attention because I heard even more voices in my head. Then we met some people whom Mitsuru-sensei (Wait…have I been thinking "Mitsuru" the whole time? Wow…so much for formality.) introduced me to.

The first person was a cop. And you could definitely tell by his looks. That…and that he could probably knock your block off in seconds.

"Akihiko." Mitsuru said,

"Mitsuru. It's been a while."

"Just a few months." She said.

The man, obviously Akihiko, took a questionnaire glance at me.

Mitsuru nodded at him.

"Don't worry. Everything'll be the same. He's just here for explanations."

"All right…but it's on your hands. I'm not gonna clean up after you." He said, turning his back to us and heading for the roof.

I was very confused.

Sensei looked at me.

"Did you hear any voices that said Caesar?" She asked me.

I was a little shocked…I wasn't paying attention to the voices…but now that she'd mention it, there was a tiny voice among the others named Caesar.

"Yes…but it's a small one. I can barely hear it from all the others."

Mitsuru nodded.

"I thought so." She said with a smile. I waited for her to fill me in. She never did.

Next up was a man in a brown coat and a baseball cap. He must be an artist because he had a sketchbook strapped to his leg and a pencil under his cap.

"Hay! It's Mitts-chan!" He said.

Mitsuru wasn't appreciative.

"You have one for Yukari, leave it at one Junpei Iori."

"Aw come on senpai. Liven up a little." Then he left upstairs.

Mitsuru looked at me.

"Anything? Trismegistus Maybe?"

Again, she was right on the mark. But this time the name was easy to hear.

"Yea…can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"The voices I'm hearing…you know what they are, don't you sensei."

"Yes. I believe I have a vague idea. And you've just proven to me that I'm right…I'm just still trying to figure out some small details." She twisted her wrist to look at her watch. Even Rolex would've fainted at the hands of this expensive piece of wrist wear. It looked expensive enough to feed half of Japan for two weeks!

"It's almost time. Let's go to the roof."

The only one else who was there besides the people we saw was the same woman who came out of Sensei's office ("Her name is Yukari Takeba." Mitsuru told me before we got to the roof.) and that was it. Fuuka-Sensei was missing.

Akihiko looked at his cell phone.

"Where are they? They should've been here by now." Akihiko said, looking impatient.

Yukari answered.

"Well we do have an extra person. So maybe Fuuka's helping her get ready?" She guessed.

Junpei looked bored.

"Well could someone tell them to hurry the hell up? I gotta make a living somehow-"

The door opened. Out came Fuuka sensei. She said something but I was to distracted by the girl coming out behind her to notice. She was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Pale skin, deep blue eyes, an innocent stare. She wore our school uniform very nicely… Dear lord I must be in heaven cause that was an angel in front of me. I couldn't help but stare at her worse than Mitsuru-Sensei.

Yukari started laughing.

"Guess you never told him about Aegis huh Senpai?" She asked.

Mitsuru shook her head.

"Don't worry. He'll be filled in after we're done."

I was barely paying attention to them. She stood in front of me. I stood straight real quick and introduced myself to the blonde teenager.

"Hi…my name's Sen. Nice to meet you Aegis."

She shook my hand with her gloved one. For a girl, she had the strongest grip I've ever felt!

"Mitsuru-chan. You didn't tell me that another person would be here." Aegis said. Her voice sounded funny…it was…off…somehow. Like it was a bit monotone.

"Well…it was a last minute decision. He'll be fine don't worry…"

Akihiko stood up.

"It's noon."

Everyone was silent. Even the voices in my head. They wall stood in front of the memorial and all of them took out their guns. Except for Aegis. I wonder why.

I stood behind them in silence. Mitsuru looked at me.

"Don't worry. They aren't loaded. I just wanted to tell you that now."

I wondered at why she said that…then they all aimed their guns at their heads. I was shocked for a second or two then calmed down. They wouldn't kill themselves. Especially with un-loaded guns.

Mitsuru gave a speech while they held their guns to their heads,(Or in Aegis' case, held her hands to her heart) almost like it was a salute.

"Today is a very monument us day. Today marks the day we stopped living in the past. For 20 years ago today we learned a truth. A very dear friend of ours gave his life to give us ours. He gave his life for all of humanity. But it wasn't until this day that we learned why. As we've been carrying on our lives, we have been living for him. Doing everything we can to see that he returns to us. But our journey has been tough and harsh, nonetheless. Some of us have lost our power. Some of us choose not to use it. Some have excelled to heights, almost of his level of power. Some of us just keep it."

"Our lives were defined on this very day. So this year, as we have been doing for every year since we've learned this truth, we shall use our power, in his name. And for those of us not here with us today because of death or because of other reasons, they are still with us in spirit, and they are still carrying out our final orders. So…in his name. Call out your Personas!"

"Trismegistus!" Junpei pulled his trigger.

"Isis!" Yukari followed

"Caesar!" Akihiko did as well.

"Artemisia!" Mitsuru followed suit.

"Juno!" Fuuka unwaveringly pulled hers.

"Athena! Thanatos! Orpheus!" Aegis stood as tall as she could and spread her arms out wide.

I marveled at the beauty of their ritual…for about three seconds!

"What….the….hell!" I walked slowly back. Seven monster/things were above them! And they didn't seem to notice!

"What are you standing there for! Hurry and run before they kill you!"

I shouted at them. They just looked at me. Junpei looked around.

"The hell are you taking about. Mitsuru-senpai you picked a very weird apple." Junpei said, oblivious. I was wide eyed. How could they not notice these things! It was right above them! Inches away!

Mitsuru walked to me. The monster/lady/thing followed her.

"You can see them can't you? Our personas?" she asked.

"Wha? Those monster things! Yes I can see them!" I said hurriedly.

Mitsuru looked up…and kept looking.

"But…how? It's not the dark hour." Akihiko asked. He was the only one without a…Persona was it? I was still confused as hell.

Mitsuru looked at Akihiko. "Yesterday he came to my office, saying he heard voices in his head. But they were the names of our personas.

So I brought him to our little…ritual…to see if I was right. But it turns out that's not all you can do is it Sen?" She asked me. What was she talking about?

Yukari looked at Mitsuru. "Let me guess. He has Potential?"

"It's most likely. But we won't know for sure. For now…let's get him filled in before he has a heart attack." Mitsuru said.

"Geesh. By the look of him I'd say he already had one." Junpei said. I don't think he was far off….

**Evening, Dorms**

**1 Day**

"So…let me see if I have this right. These things are called Persona?"

Akihiko nodded. "Correct so far."

"And they're…like…your guardians?"

Yukari nodded this time. "I guess you could call them that."

"And…a long time ago you all as teens helped save the world with Personas from Nyx? But the one who gave his life to save us was Minato Arisato?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. That's correct. It's okay if you don't believe us-"

Believe her! The proof was floating above their heads!

"Then…how come Akihiko doesn't have his persona?"

Akihiko chuckled a bit.

"I lost mine to my life. I didn't train as much as I used to with it and it just got lost to time. But it's not like we need them anymore. The Dark Hour's gone and there's no more shadows to kill."

I thought about it.

"So…then…why can I hear their names and see them?" I asked.

Mitsuru shook her head.

"We don't know. This is the first time anyone's ever been able to do that." Akihiko answered.

Yukari looked at Akihiko. "But if you think about His power and Aegis' power then you kinda have to think that anything's possible right?"

"My thoughts exactly." Mitsuru agreed.

"Well…to hell with it all anyways." I turned my body on the couch and saw Junpei eating a cup of noodles.

"I don't wanna use my persona anymore anyways. We have no use for it. So what's the point?" He asked.

"Well at least they're still there!" Yukari shouted. It was a good thing Judge was gone from the dorms. This would just seem weird to a normal person.

"And what good to us are they exactly now Yuka-tan! They can't do anything to help us in real life can they!" He retorted.

Yukari stopped acting mad and started acting like she was embarrassed.

"Actually…I've trained enough to use Garu and help me clean the store…" She said shyly.

Akihiko nodded.

"Persona or none I can still use some Zio skills. I can turn on my shaver without batteries at least." Akihiko admitted with a nonchalant look.

"Sometimes I use Bufu to place ice in my drinks. Well…that and some target practice." Mitsuru admitted as well. I was amazed. Having a persona granted you these powers? Wow.

"I sometimes listen to Orpheus' music." We all turned to Aegis.

"It…helps me a lot and it reminds me of him." She said with a hint of sadness.

I looked at Mitsuru.

"Another thing…she's a robot?" I asked.

"Yes." she answered.

"Two things. Cutest robot I've ever seen and the most human robot I've ever seen."

"Agreed." Akihiko said while nodding. Then his watch went off.

"Uh oh…time for the night shift. I have to go Mitsuru. It was nice seeing you guys again!" He said as he left the building. Junpei walked out as well.

"I gotta go paint something or other. I'm depressed enough anyways, might as well get something out of it." He left, Trismegistus following his every footstep.

Yukari looked at Mitsuru.

"Do you mind If I stay here tonight? My house is kinda far from here…and old habits die hard." Mitsuru nodded.

"I was going to stay as well anyways. I really don't feel like going to work tomorrow." She admitted. Finally. Some sign of her being human.

Fuuka looked at me. "You don't mind do you Sen-kun?" I shook my head. Actually. With three persona users in my dorm tonight, I felt a lot safer for some reason. Especially with Juno.

"Um…would it be a bother if I slept in my old room as well?" Aegis asked.

Mitsuru looked at her with a warm smile.

"It'd be our pleasure Aegis." Mitsuru said.

As everyone left to their room I sat on the couch and soaked in all the information I was handed today.

First up was the weird Velvet room with Igor. Plus he kept calling me great one. What was up with that? I forgot to tell that to Sensei. Oh well. I'll tell her in the morning. Speaking of sensei, her and her friends personas were scary at first. But now that I know about them they're fascinating. The ability to show and use your innermost feelings and personality manifested into a creature named a Persona is amazing! Next up is the Fall. Nyx and Minato were both mentioned here…but why they keep appearing in my head I have no idea. Plus, it's kinda creepy that I have His room. Maybe it was His armband I found in my closet?

So…now what? School's over for now…I have some time off…maybe I could ask Mitsuru if I have a persona. Of all the voices I wonder what it would be? Mythos? Lamia? Cerberus? Maybe Zochotuen? The thought of it was filling my head with many thoughts of excitement! I walked up to my room and changed into my Pajama's and crawled into my bed.

Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day!

Chapter 3: Priestess

**Morning, Dorms**

**Full Moon**

I awoke to the sound of voices. Normal voices for once, thank god. I quickly changed and walked down. I saw the girls talking about "Old times" while Judge was on the couch. No wonder they were using "Coded" words, as they called them. I was going to ask Mitsuru about my idea when the bell rang for the door. I walked to the door and answered it. It was Tabitha!

"Uh…hi Tabitha."

"Hay…just wanted to see if you were alive or not after we dropped you in your room like a stone." Wow…I love the choice of words…

"Uh…yea….I'm fine."

"You wanna catch a movie or something' later. Minus J-tard over there?"

Judge rolled his eyes.

"I'm not listening Tabitha~"

She rolled her's as well.

"So?" She asked again.

Funny…as much as I wanted to…I just couldn't say no. Plus the murder in her eyes really livened up the conversation…

"Sure. It's not like I had anything planned. Wha'd you have in mind?" I asked her.

**Palownia Mall, Evening**

**Full Moon**

We exited from the arcade. This was the most fun I've had…ever.

"You have got to be the first Girl who's beaten me at videogames. Actually…the first girl I've ever met to like games in the first place."

She had a huge grin on her face, which looked nice despite the Goth makeup.

"Well when you hold the current title for 'Kill Joy' in all of southern Japan, it shows in normal games." She explained. I nodded in agreement.

I checked my cell phone. It was almost midnight. About two minuets from it.

"Hay…do you hear that?" Tabitha asked me.

I listened. Besides some shadow voices, Persona voices, and the regular whoosh of water from the multiple fountains, there was nothing.

"Hear what?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"Never mind." I checked my cell phone again.

"At the tone. It will be…twelve midnight, exactly. Beep…beep….beep….BEEEEP…"

"The hell!" My cell phone cut off. I gave it a good smack. Still nothing.

"Great…that's what I get for buying a used phone." I said.

Tabitha poked my shoulder.

"Hang on…I'm trying to get my phone to-What!" I looked up…it wasn't a pretty sight.

"What….just happened?" Tabitha asked me.

The mall had changed! There was blood everywhere! It was in the fountains! It was on the floor! The air seemed to have a lime green color too it as well! The hell was going on here!

"Uh…what…are those!" Tabitha said as she pointed to three dark oozing creatures. They had no definitive shape. There was one small one and two bigger ones, and they were crawling towards us.

"Sh-sh-sh-shadows…" They had to be! Then that must mean…we're in the dark hour! But…how! Minato and co. sealed away Nyx! How is this happening! And why are we here? Wait…

I looked at Tabitha.

"You…heard a voice before this happened…right?"

"Y-yea…" She said while both of us were backing up.

"Did it sound anything like that?" I asked her as the shadows got closer.

She could only nod.

Crap…she was led in. But then how was I able too…

I shook my head. Trying to remember all that they told me about shadows.

"When we investigated Tarterus, we came across these monsters we called shadows. Before battle they looked harmless. Back when Akihiko and I were the only members of SEES we thought we could just avoid or ignore us and they'd do the same. But in reality they hunted us down. As soon as one of us was hit or touched by a shadow the area around us changed and we were thrown into battle." Mitsuru explained. Akihiko jumped in.

"Our first battle was very…hard to say the least. We thought we could just go in, kill them and be done with it. But apparently the Dark hour has rules for battle that apply during one." He shook his head.

"Rule One: Everyone has turns. The faster you physically are than your opponent, the faster you get your turn." Then Yukari jumped in.

"Rule Two: Everyone's Stamina and Magical capabilities and limits are seen only by persona users. When someone's stamina reaches zero they knock out." Then Junpei jumped in. I turned my head to see him.

"Rule Three: My favorite one. The AOA. When your enemy is down while your leader and one other person is up, you can do an All out attack which cannot be blocked or evaded. Plus it does some serious damage!" He said with a smile. Aegis piped in after him.

"Rule number Four is the Arcana system. All shadows are classified by the masks they wear and that determines their Arcana. This was very important because certain shadows or their Arcanas were weak against certain magic. Take the Priestess and Garudyne for example."

I nodded. "Anything else?"

Fuuka then nodded. "Once more."

Mitsuru nodded. "Ah yes…His best tactic."

I was confused. "Once….more? As in one more what?"

Fuuka explained. "Once more is a special rule where, if a person or shadow hit's their targets weakness or gets a hit in a critical area, then they get one more turn to do as they please. He utilized this to it's full potential a lot, getting multiple once more's at a time." Akihiko then jumped in with the last word.

"Two things left are the leader and the shadows appearances. If the leader was KO'ed on our side then so did everyone else. That's why it was important to appoint Him leader. He almost never did. The last thing is how shadows look. Don't be fooled by their initial appearance. As soon as battle starts they change into their true forms, and it can be scary at times. But because we were persona users and we had weapons on our side as well, we prevailed and vectored over many battles!"

I nodded. So our best bet was to avoid them. I grabbed Tabitha's hand and ran for the entrance to the arcade. There had to be a backdoor or something! As we ran through the people has transmogrified into coffins. Just like they had told me! I didn't pay attention to it a lot as I tried to run for the emergency Exit. I hit the door running and sent us both onto the streets. As we ran as hard as we could we could see a great many shadows all over town. What the hell was going on! I thought Shadows were only suppose to be in that tower! We were heading towards the moonlight bridge. I could see Akihiko!

"Senpai! Over here!" I yelled. He turned and ran towards us.

"Hurry! There's a lot of shadows coming after you!" He pulled out his gun and rushed us towards the end of the bridge. When we could see the other end of the bridge…we knew we were screwed. There were countless shadows waiting for us!

"Well…always did like a good handicap fight…" He looked towards me.

"You're the leader for now! Both of you get something to fight with!" I scrambled to find a stick or something! Anything! I found a trash can lid and a monkey wrench on the ground. Good enough! I ran back to Akihiko…Tabitha had throwing knives!

"Where the heck-"

"It's for self defense!" She said hurriedly.

"Here they come!"

Then a clear voice spoke inside my head.

_Akihiko-senpai! Come in! I'll provide as much support as I can from here!_

"Yamagishi! What the hell is going on here? The dark hour's back!"

_Tabitha-Kun look out behind you!_

We all turned to look. Tabitha jump-turned and tossed a knife at the shadow.

Akihiko watched in horror.

"NO! That's a red-!" It was too late. The shadow had been hit.

Battle had begun.

The wind howled. The bridge widened. The Shadow burst into three forms and they all looked pissed. I looked around. No other shadows were there.

_Hang on as long as you can guys! Everyone else is coming!_

Akihiko nodded. "Fuuka, can you see our stamina!"

_Yes I can! I'll keep you three updated on it!_

"What the hell is going on here!" Tabitha screamed. Akihiko shook his head.

"Just do as I say and we'll live through this! Dammit…Fuuka who's first?"

_Sen-Ken is first! Then it's You Akihiko then Tabitha then the shadows turns!_

I nodded. "Sensei, can you tell us what their weaknesses are?"

_I'll try! It's been a while so I may be slow but I'll try to hurry up as much as I can!_

So it was my turn. I had to think.

"How's the one closest to you Akihiko-san?" I asked

"Sound's good enough to me!"

I nodded. I ran at the huge Hanging Cyclops looking shadow and swung with all my might, then gave it another swing before I ran back to my spot.

Akihiko was next. "Really wish I had Caesar right about now…" He took aim and shot point blank. The Cyclops hit the ground hard.

_Senpai! The enemy's knocked down! Go again!_

Akihiko shot again at the one closest to Tabitha. It went down as well.

_It's weak against piercing attacks! That's it! One more Akihiko-senpai!_

Akihiko smiled as he placed a bullet in the last Cyclops' eye.

Akihiko smiled. "Here's where the fun begins! You ready Sen?" I nodded.

Tabitha looked like she understood as well.

"Okay! Now!" We all ran at the downed shadows. I targeted one Cyclops and tried to hit it as much as I could. They still had a lot of fight in them!

We kept getting knocked back! When we couldn't attack anymore we stayed our place.

Akihiko frowned.

"Dammit…how much more Fuuka?"

_They're almost to half health._

"Are you Shitting me! We did all that just for almost half health!"

_You don't have your persona anymore senpai! You don't do as much damage anymore! Tabitha it's your turn!_

Akihiko and I looked at Tabitha.

"Let's pray she has a piercing attack."

Tabitha tossed a knife at the Nearest Shadow…it dodged the attack.

"Shit! I missed!" She screamed.

"You didn't miss! It dodged the attack! Crap! Here they come!"

The Cyclops that Tabitha aimed for looked at her.

I screamed at her. "Brace yourself!"

She did so by holding her hand up to her face. She got hit with a slash attack from the Cyclops' hanging circle. She yelled in pain. The second shadow yelled out loud as a red vortex appeared around it.

"Shit….Hang on. This is gonna hurt!"

_Look out! It's MaBufula!_

"Ma what!" I yelled. Akihiko's bottom half of his body was encased in ice. Then it broke…and Akihiko hit the floor.

"Run…" He said.

_Akihiko-Senpai!_

My turn was next. As the ice encased my body I was about to scream from the cold when the ice broke and I screamed in pain from the impact. I don't know how but I held onto consciousness. Tabitha couldn't do it. After the attack she was left on the ground. She didn't look like she was breathing.

I looked at the last Cyclops It screamed as well. I saw it coming. As the ice was about to encase me I jumped out of the way in time.

_Sen…be careful! The other's need more time!_

I tried to think….my brain just wouldn't work! If I ran there was no chance of us surviving because we're surrounded. But There was no chance of me hanging on for long with THEM!

_Call….me….forth…_

Sensei?

_I didn't say that! Sen what's going on?_

_Call my name…you need me…I'll protect you…I'll destroy them…bring me forth…you know how…_

I looked at Akihiko. I walked towards his unconscious body and took his Evoker.

_That's it…send me forth…let the world know our pain…let us bring forth the end…_

_Wait! Sen no! This voice! It's-_ That was the end of what she said. I couldn't disobey the voice. It was controlling me. Possessing me. I…. had to see…what was it that enchanted me? As I pointed the gun towards the side of my head I couldn't control myself anymore. Something else was pulling the strings.

"_I am the harbinger of death. I will bring death upon those who wish it…and those who wish to harm me."_

"_Thou arth I._

_And I am thou._

_No one can withstand my might! I am the fall! Now! Call me!"_

I pulled the trigger.

"PERSONA!"

My head split! The pain…it was immeasurable! I felt like My brain was imploding! I was about to give in…when it stopped. I opened my eyes. Nothing changed…but the Cyclopes looked afraid. I heard a flapping sound. Like the sound of a birds wings in slow motion. I turned around to see my persona.

"N-n-nyx!" No way….my persona was…Nyx! There was no question!

The white mask, the four raven feathered wings, the huge figure along with the sword bigger than the dorms I lived in? It matched the description the others said exactly!

Nyx looked at me.

"Hurry up and command me human. These Shadows appearances bore me."

I semi-nodded. Then turned around.

What could Nyx do? As soon as the question popped into my head, so many answers filled it as well! I picked one at random.

"Megidolaon!" I said pointing to the shadows. Nyx did the same and three orbs or pure light appeared above us. Then, in a slow spiral, they came down and fused together, creating a massive explosion! I covered myself with my arms and when the damage was done only I was left standing.

The bridge pulled itself back. The wind howled again. Then all was still.

No more voices…did something happen? I walked till I could see one end of the bridge. The shadows were retreating as fast as they could!

I ran to the other side of the bridge and confirmed what I had seen. A smile lit across my face. Then I saw Akihiko and Tabitha still on the ground.

"Nyx…can you do anything to help them?"

_Why would we want to? Leave them to the shadows._

"Wait a second! You're my persona! And as such you are suppose to listen to me! So heal them….uh….now?" Nyx kneeled down and looked strait at me. Her mask alone was my size…yipe….maybe I was pushing my luck.

_Fine…they shall be restored…_

Nyx waved her hand and Shortly after Akihiko and Tabitha awoke…in horror.

Akihiko pulled out his gun. "You're back! No wonder the Dark hour is here!"

"Senpai wait!" We all turned our heads. There was Yukari and the others along with Fuuka-sensei and Judge…wait…Judge!

"What is he doing in the Dark hour?"

Yukari answered me.

"He just recently awakened to his potential. That's why we took so long. But the bigger question is…Why is Nyx here!" She said, looking at the giant persona.

I wondered that myself.

Mitsuru walked in the middle.

"Regardless…we need to get back to the dorms so we can talk this out…something's not right here." She said to us all.

I nodded.

Nyx faded away. But she wasn't gone. I could hear her voice in my head.

_You're making a big mistake human._

Well if I was…then it was my mistake to make.

Nyx was silent after that.

We didn't see any shadows on our way to the dorms…but that didn't mean we weren't prepared. Our guard wasn't down even when we walked into the dorms. Mitsuru-sensei looked at me with a worried expression on her face. She turned to look at Fuuka-sensei and she nodded.

As everyone sat down their attention was all to me. It made me uncomfortable.

"So…is anyone gonna say anything or are all of you just going to stare at me all night?" I asked. I was a bit annoyed.

Mitsuru answered. "I'm sorry…it's just…tonight has given us a lot to think about. The main thing is that…the dark hour is back. But what's scaring me is that there's no Tarterus. No tower whatsoever. All the shadows are outside. Which means that Apathy syndrome is going to be a plague not just here but all around the world…and now you have Nyx as a persona…it's a lot to take in-"

"Bullshit! Lot to take in is an understatement! Why the hell does he have Nyx!" Akihiko screamed. "We went through hell and back to get her down! He even gave up his life to seal her! And now she's just prancing around here like nothing! Was His sacrifice that meaningless!" Akihiko looked even more pissed. Tabitha took out a throwing knife.

"Watch it. Cop or not I wont hesitate to toss this at you if you so much as take a step towards him." She warned.

I looked at her, surprised.

"Uh…thanks?" I said. She nodded.

"I owe you my life. It's the least I can do."

I was in thanks to that.

Akihiko cooled down. "All I'm saying is that this is confusing as hell. This is worse than when Ikut-"

"Guys…" Judge said hesitantly.

We all looked at him.

"How long did you say this was suppose to last Miss Yukari?"

"An hour…or so we think. It ends at 12:01 though. Why do you ask?"

"Cause it's 12:05 right now and we're still in the dark hour. My cell phone's back on though…"

Ah shit…..

Chapter 3: Priestess

Mitsuru was in shock…or that's how she looked.

"Still…in…"

Akihiko walked to the window and pulled back the curtains.

"You've got to be kidding me…this just gets worse and worse…what's next on the agenda? People falling out of the television!"

Mitsuru shook her head. "Let's not say something drastic."

Yukari looked at Mitsuru.

"What do we do senpai?"

Mitsuru shook her head.

"I…I don't know. We're in a weird predicament today. It seems the Dark hour may be permanent but lets hope that's not true. In any case the electricity is working again so it's safe to assume that the shadows aren't roaming the cities at this time. As for why the Dark Hour returned in the first place is very troubling to all of us. This can only mean one of two things. His seal is weakening or some unknown catalyst has caused it to return."

Fuuka lowered her head. "Let's pray for the latter."

Akihiko nodded. "Agreed. If something happened to the Great Seal the Fall might take place again. Or not."

Mitsuru looked at Akihiko with confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked him with that same look of interest she showed me back in her office that one day.

"Sen has Nyx as a persona. Maybe because she's with him she can't bring forth the Fall?"

_That would be true…if I was the real Nyx. _I heard Nyx say.

"There's…one thing…Akihiko-sama." I said.

"What's that?"

"She just said she's not the real Nyx." As soon as I finished the sentence He took a step back. Yukari showed an expression of shock. Tabitha and Mitsuru both showed an expression of interest. Judge…was reading a book again…

"Not….wait what the hell!" Akihiko said in confusion. "That doesn't make sense! How is your persona not the real Nyx!"

_Because I am your Shadow Sen. The shadow of a human cannot be a god._

I relayed her message to them.

Tabitha looked a little confused.

"Wait…can someone bring me up to speed on the terms and shit here?" She said.

"What's your mouth Tabitha-chan!" Fuuka said with her usual tone. Geesh. Even scolding people she looked to relaxed. What an unusual person.

"Sorry sensei."

I took a deep breath…then explained to her in as much detail as I could about everything I knew…

Tabitha looked understanding as I finished.

"So…do you get everything now?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Wow sensei…you guys are amazing."  
>Mitsuru was going to say something when the door to the dorms were being pounded upon.<br>"Open the hell up! There's some weird things going on here!" It was Junpei.

Judge stopped reading his book and calmly walked to the door and opened it. Akihiko chuckled a bit.

Junpei looked pissed off and confused at the same time.

"What the hell Senpai! Why is the dark hour back! And in the real world! There's a TV broadcasting about 'weird' incidents right now!"

Mitsuru only caught the last part.

"What!" She rushed to the TV and turned it on. Immediately there was one reporter on the screen.

"…of weird monster-like creatures popping up in dense fogged areas. The area's have appeared all over Japan and the world and are being evacuated as I speak these words. The reports have been staggering and for all we know this may be the end of our world as we know it. This is JKTV bringing you live updates every time we get them. On the hour, every hou-"

She turned the TV off.

"A global attack? But…that's impossible. How can that be? This just gets worse and worse."

Junpei looked at Mitsuru. "So…you don't know anything senpai?"

She shook her head.

"I….no…I can't even fathom why this is happening…this…is beyond my grasp. Beyond my research for years and years. I…I'm…" She couldn't finish her sentence. She found a chair and sat down slowly. I looked at everyone.

"So…what do we do now? I mean…we…have to do something…right?"

Yukari nodded.

"We'll figure out something. We always do. I mean…we could do it when we were kids so it should be easier now that we're adults right? I mean besides Akihiko and Junpei we have persona users. We have been training. The only thing that's changed is-What the heck!" Yukari jumped back from the TV. I started at the TV in shock as it came on by itself. It showed two teens…almost my age I think. It was a boy and a girl. They were both wearing glasses.

"Hay….can anyone hear us in there!" The boy with headphones around his neck yelled. After that the girl in a green sweater gut kicked him.

"They can hear you fine idiot! Talk normal." She then looked at everyone.

Could they see us!

"Um…hay there….uh…this may sound weird but…have you guys seen either a biker dude about my size or maybe a very huge…stuffed animal walking around." She asked.

Junpei looked around at everyone.

"This…is some kind of TV prank right? I mean…they can't really see us right? Senpai?"

The boy off screen answered.

"Whoever said that, I wish it was true…so does my gut….ow…"

Mitsuru stood in front of the TV.

"Um…who are you two?"

The boy finally stood up. In a lot of pain I bet.

"I don't think we should tell you…" He said.

Mitsuru looked quizzical.

"How are you seeing us right now? Is there a hidden camera on the TV or something!" Junpei asked.

The girl shook her head.

"No…n-nothing like that…"

The boy turned around and tapped on the girl's shoulder.

"Chie…I think be have to jump ship…"

The girl, obviously Chie, turned around.

"Yikes! Okay…see you all in a bit!"

Then they ran towards the screen and it turned off.

Everyone was confused as all heck.

Akihiko was the first to say something.

"Um…was it just me or…where we all just seeing two teens talking to us from the television?"

I looked at sensei.

"Um…so…I wasn't the only one who saw it? And what did they mean by 'see you all soon'?"

Junpei inspected the TV.

"Maybe the TV has, like, a weird function or something. Like one of those sci-fi sho-OW!" He got flying tackled by…The girl from the TV!

"What the hell! How….Wait….Huh!" Junpei was trying to search for words. I was trying to wrap my head around what the hell just happened.

The girl named Chie shook her head.

"Thanks for breaking my fall…I really hate landings."

Akihiko shook his head.

"What the hell is going on here! How the hell did you-!"

Then came a crash upstairs along with a muffled "OW! That hurt…"

Akihiko along with everyone looked towards upstairs.

He ran upstairs.

Mitsuru got the girl from the TV up to her feet.

"You better explain yourself right now! Why…er…how…How is it possible for you to do that?"

Chie looked at us.

"Uh…long story? An a weird one as well."

Tabitha looked at Chie annoyed.

"We deal with long weird stories here. It's like occult R' US in here."

Akihiko came down with the boy from the TV being dragged by his uniform collar.

He grabbed the girl two and I'm guessing his police instinct took over from there cause he forced them both into some seats and said nothing but the sharp words.

"You Two. Talk. Now."

Chie looked at the boy. He shrugged. "It…can't be harmful…it's not like they'll understand anyways."

Chie took a long breath inwards and began her story.

"Well…we're from Inaba Japan. We have these weird things called Personas that we use to fight shadows in the TV world. We were investigating why the TV world had grown and why the fog was going into some TV's. So we split up into groups and went to different rooms…but only Yosuke here and I came back from our excursion. None of our friends had returned. So…yea…plus we were in a largely shadow populated area so we didn't really have a choice but to come here. Wait, what are you all doing in the TV world!" She asked us.

Akihiko looked at them.

"TV world! This is Iwatodai Japan! And you came here remember?"

The Boy named Yosuke looked at Chie.

"Then the fog was leaking out to the real world again? Damn it."

Mitsuru walked towards them.

"Wait…so…what you're saying is…you two are persona users?"

Chie looked at Mitsuru.

"Yea…wait…you believe us?"

Judge laughed from his book.

Tabitha looked at Chie.

"Almost this entire room is filled with them Girl. You picked a great spot to land in."

Junpei looked at the TV.

"Uh….guys…problem!"

A shadow was appearing from the TV!

Yosuke jumped up.

"Crap! If we don't find a way to get the fog back in the TV world shadows are gonna start popping all over the damn place!"

Akihiko looked at Yosuke with a shocked expression.

"Are you serious! Then what do we do!"

Tabitha grabbed the TV and flipped it till it's screen was facing the floor.

"How about that! Ever thought of that!"

Everyone had a sour expression on their faces. But they were soon followed by relief sighs. The Shadows were trying to overturn the TV but to no avail.

Chie looked at Tabitha.

"Great thinking there. Wish a certain someone over on our side was that smart." She said looking at Yosuke.

Yosuke looked back at her.

"Knowing your grades, you might be talking about yourself."

She gut kicked him again. ("Ow…damn it…") Yukari laughed.

"I like her. She's got spunk."

Mitsuru sat down and thought for a second.

"So…what your saying is…what's happening right now…the foggy areas in our world and the shadows there...are caused because fog from the TV world is leaking to our world?"

Chie nodded. Yosuke grunted.

"Then it's clear what we must do. We have to find these TV's and get rid of them. Cause if we do then the fog has no means of entering our world right?"

Chie shrugged.

"Don't know. Never tried it before."

Akihiko face palmed.

"You never tried breaking the TV's…you've got to be kidding me. No wonder you came out of them! You two are a bunch of sitcom characters!"

Chie looked at Akihiko.

"If I knew you I'd gut kick you too!"

Tabitha looked at Chie.

"Oooh-oooh, can I help with that!"

Akihiko looked at them both.

Fuuka spoke.

"We forgot one TV…"

Akihiko looked at her.

"What?…Oh no…the one upstairs!" Everyone, including the two weird teens ran upstairs.

Sure enough there were a couple shadows coming from Junpei's old room.

Fuuka looked at them.

"I'll provide back up as much as I can! Akihiko-senpai, can you hurry and break the TV?"

Akihiko nodded.

Mitsuru teamed up with Tabitha and Yukari along with Junpei.

I teamed up with Judge and the two weird teens.

Judge got his evoker out. I took out the one I forgot to give back to Akihiko.

Everyone was ready.

Fuuka looked ready.

"Okay everyone! Let's do our best!"

I charged in and gave the shadow a good smack in the mask to start the fight…

The shadows were three weird dog/police officer things with holes in the middle of them and keys floating in the holes.

_Be careful everyone! I've never seen this kind of shadow before! It's Yosuke's turn first!_

Yosuke nodded and placed his headphones on. He took out two very sharp butcher knives and started tossing them around while he was thinking.

Then he nodded and a weird card popped out.

"Let's show them, Susa-no-O!" He spin jumped and hit his card. Then his persona appeared and used Garudyne! One shadow was down already!

"You guys are amazing!" I said. I couldn't help myself. There were other ways of summoning persona's without the use of evokers?

_Nice one Yosuke-san! It's your turn Sen-kun!_

I nodded. I needed to see what would be effective.

"Sensei…who's turn is it afterwards?"

_It's Chie-chan but why do you ask?_

I had a great idea.

"What if I used my turn but then she did her move immediately afterwards? Like doing two moves at once?"

_Would that work? There's only one way to find out! Get ready Chie-chan!_

"I'm all over it…"

I tried to think.

"How about Garudyne?"

Chie nodded.

"I'll see what I can do that."

I held up the evoker.

Chie's persona card floated down.

"Nyx come forth!"

"Come Suzuka Gongen!"

Nyx appeared along with Suzuka.

As Nyx used Garudyne Suzuka used a move I knew in my head was kill rush.

The wind element fused with the attacks and created an amazing display of hits and magic! Both Shadows were down!

_That was amazing! Both enemies are down!_

I couldn't help myself from shouting.

"Time to end this, once and for all!"

Then we all rushed in and defeated the two down shadows with ease! Even with Judge and I being without weapons we did major damage!

I smiled and cheered! So did my team mates! It was a great feeling! It was like I was on top of the world!

It was then that I saw my first three cards in my head.

Magician, Chariot, and Judgment.

This never get easier to understand does it?

I didn't care. They vanished afterwards and the hallway turned back to normal.

The others were still in their fight.

I was going to help them when I couldn't feel myself.

"No…not…now…" The room spun. My knees gave out. I was exhausted.

My eyelids wouldn't stay open. And again I heard my name in the distance.

"Sen!"

**Velvet room**

**?**

**Full**

I found myself summoned back to the Velvet room. I found the singular chair and sat down. The room looked different this time. It was like an office but with lacy accent's around the window curtains.

I looked at Igor.

"Did…something happen?"

Igor nodded.

"I thought it may be a good time to hand you this."

He placed a black open fingered glove on the table. I was confused.

"What is…this?"

"This is an Arcana glove. Many of my guests see card of opportunity. But you are a special guest. You see the elements of opportunity. Allow me to…elaborate. Your true arcana has yet to be revealed. But for now your arcana is the fool which is the number zero. Zero can be many things. It can be the bare beginning or the ultimate end. Plus…the fool can give himself many guises. And with this glove you can change the mask of your true intentions. But the mask and power you receive depends on the strength of your heart and those around you that your heart is tied with."

I was even more confused.

"Change the mask? Strength of my heart? Can you….dumb it down a little?"

Igor gave a slight chuckle.

"Yes. The strength of your heart and your friends. The emotional ties that you create help strengthen your persona. These ties are called, Social Links. And as you strengthen your social links, your persona will learn about theirs, and in time you will be able to actually use their abilities as your own instead of these, fake abilities you mask yourself with."

I think I actually understood that one.

"Wait…so…all the abilities I've been using…they're…fake?"

Igor nodded.

"Faking abilities takes a lot out of you. The power is almost the same, but the cost to the user is greater to you than someone who has actually learned the ability."

I nodded. That's why I keep passing out.

Igor smiled. It was creepy and disturbing.

"My job here is to inform you and give you the tools to survive. I wonder…your destiny may be shaped for you, yet you still try to cut your own path. Very interesting. Indeed you are the most interesting guest so far."

I took the glove.

"What do you mean? My destiny shaped for me?"

"In time, you will know. For your destiny is tied with two others. And your destiny will determine weather a great tragedy or a miraculous occasion will occur. But until then…farewell."

As my vision blurred I could help but feel that I left with more questions than answers…

**Dorms**

**Morning**

**Full**

I awoke in my room. Tabitha and Judge along with that boy…what was his name? Yosuke. Were in my room as well. I noticed my TV was turned, screen down on the floor. It kept continuously moving, but not overturning.

Tabitha was asleep in my study chair.

Judge was reading another book while he was laying on the floor. War and peace? You're kidding me.

Yosuke was listening to his music.

I sat up. I looked out the window then at my clock.

How was it still dark out at 7:43 Am?

Judge looked at me.

"Didn't take you for the sleep in type. You passed out till this morning. But don't look out the window. You'd never know it was morning."

"You'd never get a good sleep either with all his turn page noises…"

Tabitha said with her eyes closed. She yawned. She rubbed her eyes. I barely noticed now that she didn't have any gothic makeup on. She looked even more beautiful than Aegis!

"Wow…."

Tabitha raised her eyebrows. "What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing…What happened when I passed out from over exhaustion?"

Yosuke answered.

"Well we got all the TV's down, found all the locations of the heavily fogged area's, and we planned what to do next. And by we I mean that Red headed teacher of yours and the girl in the Pink tank top. You guys have the hottest girls I've ever seen here. Rissete included."

I tilted my head.

"Rissete? The thirty something year old woman who started her own showbiz company?" Judge said, finally showing interest in something besides books.

Yosuke took a step back.

"Say wha? No! Rissete the teen idol! Where have you been?"

Judge laughed.

"She used to be a teen idol years back. A long time back. Where have you been?" Tabitha asked.

Yosuke looked at my Calendar on my wall.

"Oh man…this gets better and better doesn't it…"

A voice I was already familiar with but still surprised me sounded in my head.

_Everyone please come down, breakfast is ready._

Yosuke nodded.

"Hopefully food with make me have some sense into this."

Breakfast was nice. It was Ham and eggs (Scrambled for me) and a cup of Orange Juice. I looked at the clock then back outside. It was still dark with the moon on full blast.

I looked around. Everyone was calm. Considering the predicament we were in it seemed out of place, but it had a nice effect. Yosuke was literally inspecting every inch of his eggs.

Chie looked at him.

"I didn't make it…" She said to him.

Yosuke still inspected.

"Just making sure this isn't the morning edition of Mystery food X." After he was done he practically swallowed his eggs whole.

I smiled.

Chie frowned.

"Hay…we got one right."

"Yea, that's because it was a Christmas cake for Nanako-chan. Had you screwed it up though I think even Nanako-chan would've puked. And you'd officially suck. Cause no one could mess up something as simple as a cake. But then again…I thought you couldn't mess up curry, but you two proved us wrong…waaaaaaay wrong…"

I was curous as to what he was saying.

"How do you mess up curry?"

Yosuke looked at me.

"Trust me…you don't want to know…it was Gritty yet Slimy yet tasteless yet disgusting at the same time. No one could swallow it. No one. Ever…I swear even when we dumped in into the grass the grass died."

Chie looked pissed.

"IT didn't die!"

Then she changed into a face of embarrassment.

"It browned…A lot…but it didn't die…"

I held in a laugh.

"Wow…must've been some messed up stuff." Tabitha said, joining in.

Yosuke nodded.

"It made prison food look like gourmet…" He said. Just the thought of it seemed to make him shudder. Was it really that bad? Guess I'm glad she didn't cook our eggs then…


End file.
